Marshmallow Challenge

The Marshmallow Tower Inquiry Challenge 🗼

Welcome innovators! Today, your challenge is to work with your team to build the tallest possible freestanding tower that can support a single marshmallow on top. You’ll have to think like engineers—testing ideas, learning from what doesn’t work, and improving your designs.

Your Mission

Work in your small group to build the tallest freestanding structure that holds one standard marshmallow on the very top.

Materials

• 20 sticks of uncooked spaghetti
• 1 yard of string
• 1 yard of masking tape
• 1 standard marshmallow
• A measuring tape

The Inquiry Process: Plan, Build, Reflect

Instead of giving you a blueprint, we want you to use your own brilliant minds to figure out the best way to build your tower. Use these questions to guide your team’s thinking process.

Phase 1: Brainstorm & Design (5 minutes)

• What are some initial ideas for the tower’s shape? Why do you think that shape might be strong?
• How can the spaghetti be used for both height and support?
• What is the best way to create a stable base for your tower?
• How might you use the tape and string to strengthen the structure?

Phase 2: Build & Test (18 minutes)

• As you build, what is working well with your design?
• What challenges are you facing? How can you solve them?
• Observe other teams. What interesting ideas do you see?
• Is your tower stable? If not, what changes can you make?

Phase 3: Final Touches & Measurement

• Ensure your marshmallow is on top before the time is up!
• A facilitator will measure the height of your tower from the tabletop to the top of the marshmallow.

Share Your Findings

After the challenge, be ready to share with the group:

• What was one thing your team did that worked really well?
• What was one “failure” that taught you something important?
• If you had more time, what would you do differently?